And Life Goes On
by Sonata Rapp
Summary: The sequel to No Other Road! The RENT gang are dealing with being parents and getting older. People from Roger's past come back and reveal secrets that could change everyone's lives.
1. Chapter 1

And Life Goes On

I've read the reviews, and I've heard your calls for a sequel to No Other Road, No Other Way. So by popular demand here it is! Thanks for all the great feedback by the way. I love getting reviews from you all.

Chapter 1

Fifteen-year-old Anastasia Davis was sleeping peacefully when her little brother started squealing in the room next to hers. She sighed and got up to see what was wrong with him before he woke up her fathers who had both worked late that night.

"Okay Andrew. I'm coming." she said as she entered his room. "What's wrong huh? Why are you making all this noise? You know Dad and Daddy need their sleep."

The little boy stopped crying once he saw his sister's face. "Ana" he said. Andrew Davis was two years old and was talking already. He could say "Ana", "Daddy", "Dada" and other little words. "Ana up!" Andrew said then.

"Only because you woke me up little one." Ana said to him. Then she leaned over and picked him up. "I need you to go back to sleep for a few more hours and then we'll all get up and someone will play with you. Okay?"

"Ya Ana!" Andrew said happily. "Ya ya."

Ana smiled at her brother. "I'm going to take that as a yes." She laid him back down in his bed and sang to him softly until he fell asleep. Then she went back to bed herself.

After all the drama that had occurred when Mimi was sick had passed and she and Darren had gotten married and had their baby, Mark and Roger's lives had settled back down. They adopted another child, this one a baby, enrolled Ana in the local school and got back to working on their music and films.

Maureen, Joanne and Jaylah moved to Long Island and Joanne started her own law firm. Mimi and Darren stayed where they were and began the task of raising their son Angelo. Collins continued to teach and visit each of his friend's houses. Sara worked hard and became a dancing instructor like Mimi, and bought herself a house near hers.

That morning Ana woke up around ten, went and got Andrew out of his crib and then joined Roger in the kitchen. He was fixing himself some coffee when his kids came in. "Hey you two." he greeted them.

"Morning Daddy." Ana said. "Where's Dad?"

Roger came over and took Andrew from her and said, "He's in the shower. He's got to be at work in like an hour." he said.

"But it's Sunday. I thought you guys didn't work on Sunday." Ana said.

"I don't. But Mark hates leaving the studio under the control of the interns. He likes to do everything himself."

"That's right I do." Mark said as he came down the stairs. He kissed Ana and Andrew on the cheek and then came over to Roger. "I should be home around four as long as one of those idiotic interns doesn't brake anything." He kissed his partner on the lips, then turned to his daughter. "Ana I know you've got that report due tomorrow. If Maureen comes over here, do not let her distract you from your work. See you all later." Then he breezed out the door.

Roger shook his head and went to get some food for Andrew. "So what are you doing today Ana?" he called from the pantry.

"Well I have to do that stupid book report and then I was going to try and learn a couple of new songs on my guitar." she called back. Then there was a knock on the front door. "I'll get it Daddy." Ana said and went to the door. Maureen was outside.

"Hi Ana. Are your dads up yet?" she said.

"Daddy's in the kitchen with Drew and Dad just left for work." Ana replied moving aside to let her in.

"Jeez, is there ever a time when Mark's not working?" Maureen asked as she came into the house.

"He said it wouldn't be for that long today." Ana told her. She went back into the kitchen and fixed herself some cereal.

Roger emerged from the pantry with Andrew. "Mo isn't it a little early for you to be bothering us?" he asked with a smile. "I haven't even gotten my kids fed yet."

Ana giggled as Maureen stuck her tongue out at Roger. Then Maureen turned to her. "I'm taking Jaylah shopping today. She insists that she did not get enough clothes the first time we took her shopping new clothes. You wanna come?"

"Can I go Daddy?" Ana asked Roger.

"It's fine with me, but remember what your Dad said." Roger told her.

Ana nodded. "I have a book report to finish, but I should be done around two if I start now. I can go then." she said.

"Okay I'll be back at three and we'll go then." Maureen said. She got up to leave and dropped a kiss on Andrew's forehead. "See you later little man." she said. "You too Roger."

"We should start calling her Hurricane Maureen." Roger remarked. "She just rushes in here and then rushes back out destroying all the peace."

Ana laughed. "But you have to admit that she livens things up around here Daddy."

"That's true." Roger agreed. "I'm going to get this little boy cleaned up and dressed. You get started on that report."

"What ever happened to your 'never do today what you can put off until tomorrow' policy?" Ana wanted to know. "I thought that was what you lived by."

"It was." Roger told her. "But then I had kids."

Ana laughed and went into the idea room where the computer was set up. She sat down and began to type up her report. Three hour later she was done, so she decided to check her email. There was the usual slew of junk, some chain letters from some kids at school and one from Arty.

**Hey Ana. **It read, **I just finished my book report. That book was so stupid. Anyway I wanted to ask if you would like to go grab something to eat after school tomorrow. Just us? Let me know.**

**-Arty**

Ana's eyes widened at that. She had always had a kind of thing for Jaylah's friend Arty. Now he wanted to go do something with her. She took a deep breath and then went upstairs and knocked on Mark and Roger's bedroom door.

"Hey Daddy?" she called.

Roger came to the door. "Yeah?"

"Would it be alright if I went to get something to eat with Arty tomorrow after school?" she asked.

"That sounds okay." Roger said. "You might want to ask Mark though."

"I will, thanks Daddy."

Ana ran back down the stairs and quickly sent an email to Mark. He was usually on line at this time.

**Hey Dad. Can I go get something to eat with Arty after school tomorrow? He needs an answer now and Daddy says it's okay with him. **

**-Ana**

A minute later she got a reply: **You can go, but remember that Mimi, Darren and Angelo are coming over for dinner tomorrow night and you'll need to be home by six.**

**-Dad**

Ana grinned and sent a reply back to Arty saying she'd love to go. Then she shut down the computer and went upstairs to get ready to go shopping.

Roger was sitting on the couch playing his guitar when Ana, Maureen, and Jaylah came back from shopping.

"Hello ladies, and Maureen." he greeted them. "How was the shopping?"

"It was fun your daughter has great taste. Though lord knows she didn't get it from you. And did you know that she has a date tomorrow?" Maureen replied.

"With one of my best friends no less." Jaylah replied.

"Come on you guys." Ana said blushing. "It's not a date. Arty's my friend and we're just going to get something to eat."

"Aww my little girl's growing up." Roger said grinning. "Mark!" he called up the stairs. "Ana's home!"

Mark came down the stairs. "Oh hey Maureen, hey Jaylah." he gave his daughter a hug. "What's with all the shouting?"

"Ana's got a hot date." Maureen said.

"It's not a date!" Ana insisted. This continued all night.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next day Ana and Jaylah were walking to school. Jaylah turned to her friend. "So where are you and Arty going today?" she asked.

Ana shrugged. "I'm not sure. I wish your mother would quit calling it a date though. I think it makes my dads nervous."

"Arty probably thinks it is a date. He's always liked you Ana." Jaylah said.

That was news to Ana. "Really? I always thought he liked you."

Jaylah laughed. "Not me. He says I freak him out because I'm so loud and crazy. But he's still my friend because he's afraid I'll kill him or something."

"Funny, that's what my dads say about your mom."

"Roger!" Mark was calling. "Rog where are you?"

"In the bathroom!" Roger called back. "Mark we have a horrible situation here!"

That made Mark worry. When an HIV positive person said there was a horrible situation it was a cause for alarm. He took the stairs two at a time and ran into the bathroom. "What's wrong honey?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"No I'm not okay." Roger said frantically. "I was just standing here admiring my masculine beauty when I saw it."

"Saw what?" Mark asked in a panic. "What in the world are you talking about Roger?"

"This!" Roger shouted pointing at his head. "I have a gray hair!"

Mark just looked at him. "A gray hair? That's what you had me all worried for? Roger come on, you're not as young as you used to be."

"Don't remind me." Roger wailed. "I refuse to get old."

"News flash Rog. First of all, yes, you are beautiful, but you're married to a man. That kind of cuts down on the masculinity thing. Second of all, you'll be forty in a couple of years. You should be glad that grays hairs are all you've got. It could be worse you know." Mark reasoned.

"You're right." Roger said. "It just freaks me out that I'm getting old. I can understand how my parents felt now."

Mark came and put his arm around him. "Hey Ana and Drew will still love you when you're old and gray and senile."

"What about you?" Roger wanted to know.

"Um yeah. Well I don't have gray hairs so I might just move on to someone younger." Mark joked.

Roger raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" he said. Then he chased Mark into their bedroom and around the room until they both fell laughing onto the bed. "Ana's at school and Drew's at daycare." Roger said to Mark.

"So?"

"So, I plan to show you that experience comes with age. I'm not getting older my love, just better." Roger said seductively.

"Better at what?" Mark asked with a grin.

"Allow me to show you." Roger whispered into his ear and began to kiss him on the neck.

"Oh, that." Mark said biting back a moan. "Well maybe I'll stick around for a little while."

"I thought you might." Roger said back, and then he continued to prove his point.

Three hours later Mark went to get showered so he could go to the store and get ready to make dinner, and Roger picked up the phone and dialed Mimi's number.

"Hello?" Mimi answered breathlessly.

"Meems you sound a little winded. Am I interrupting something?" Roger asked.

"Just me chasing Angelo around." Mimi said. Her and Darren's son Angelo Mathews was three now and he was full of his mother's energy. "He's discovered that it's fun to make Mommy chase him. Especially when Mommy's not so young anymore."

"I feel your pain Mimi." Roger replied. "I found a gray hair today. It was traumatic."

"I can imagine." Mimi said dryly. "I'm glad all your adoring fans haven't made you shallow Roger. Anyway, what's up?"

"Mark wants me to let you know that dinner is going to be a little late tonight because he wants to give Ana a chance to get her homework done before it gets all crazy over here. I didn't think it was that serious, but you know Mark." Roger told her.

Mimi laughed. "I do. That's right, Ana has a date this afternoon."

Roger rolled his eyes. "Maureen has the biggest mouth in history." he said. Suddenly there was the sound of screaming in the background.

"You're right she does." Mimi said. "And I think Angelo is channeling her right now. I'd better go."

"Sometimes it's better to let kids get it out of their system. If they know someone's coming every time they cry, they'll get spoiled." Roger told her.

"Yeah well Darren and I have found that if we don't come, he'll just get louder and start breaking things. Usually valuable things." Mimi replied.

"Hey, just like Maureen." Roger said. "See you around seven Mimi." then he hung up.

It was the end of the day and Ana was at her locker getting her books for her homework. Jaylah walked up behind her. "Hey girl. You all ready for your date?"

"I guess." Ana replied. "I've never really been out with a boy before."

"Oh it'll be fine. I mean you live in a house full of men; you should be used to them by now. Besides it's just Arty." Jaylah said.

"Thank you for that vote of confidence Jay." Arty said as he came up to them. He turned to Ana. "So you all ready to go then Ana?"

She smiled at him. "Yeah let's go." They left the school and walked down the street to a little café.

Once they had ordered they spent the time talking. Ana found that she enjoyed talking to Arty. He was funny and a little nerdy but sweet. He reminded her of Mark. After a hour and a half, Ana looked at her watch. "Arty this was great but I really have to go now. My parents are having company and I have to get back to help them get ready."

Arty nodded. "I'll walk you home then." They walked the short distance from the café to Ana's house. When they got to her doorway he said, "I had fun today. We'll have to do it again sometime."

"I'd like that." Ana replied. Arty leaned forward and kissed her the cheek then walked off down the street.

Ana had a smile on her face when used her key to open the front door. She walked into the kitchen where Roger and Mark were trying to pretend they hadn't just been spying on her.

"You two are so nosy." she said.

"What are you talking about?" Roger asked innocently. "We were just in here cooking."

"Daddy you don't cook." Ana retorted. "I saw you both in the window."

Mark laughed. "Okay so we were spying. But it's not every day our daughter has her first date. So did you have fun?"

"I did. Arty is really nice and funny."

"That's good. Anyway you should get your homework done. Mimi and Darren will be here in a couple of hours." Mark told her.

"You got it Dad." Ana said and went up the stairs thinking of Arty.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Mimi darling where's Angelo's blue shirt?" Darren called. They were trying to get ready to go to dinner at Mark and Roger's.

"I don't know honey. Just put him in the red one." Mimi called back as she got dressed herself.

"I tried, but he's screaming for the blue. Oh wait I found it." Darren said. "Crisis averted."

"Thank God." Mimi said under her breath. It was harder than she thought it would be to be a parent. Darren came into their bedroom carrying their now silent son. "I am so asking Maureen to baby sit sometimes. She loves things that are loud." she told him.

"I'm all for that." Darren replied kissing her on the cheek. "Sometimes daycare just isn't enough."

Mimi smiled at their reflection in the mirror. She was so happy with her little family. Her husband caught her look and smiled too. "We should go." Mimi said. Darren nodded, scooped up Angelo and escorted Mimi out the door.

"Roger!" Mark was yelling. "Roger will you come on already? Your hair is not going to ever stop being messy and you will never look any better, so come on!"

Roger was indeed in the bathroom mirror checking himself out. He had been in the bathroom since Ana had come out an hour before. He heard Mark yelling and decided he looked good and opened the door.

Ana was walking by. "Jeez Daddy how much time do you need in there?" she asked.

Roger wrapped an arm around her. "Ana my dear, I may have natural good looks, but it takes time to polish them into pure handsomeness. You can't just roll out of bed and look this good."

Ana raised an eyebrow. "Daddy, you look really good, but I think you need some serious therapy." she said patting him on the back as they descended the stairs together.

Mark looked up. "Ana you look lovely." he remarked. It was true. Ana was growing up into beautiful young woman. Tonight she had on a long denim skirt and a green tank top. Her strawberry blond hair had grown and hung halfway down her back. Around her neck was the gold necklace that her fathers had bought her for her thirteenth birthday.

Her gray eyes sparkled as she kissed Mark on the cheek. "Thank you Dad. You look nice too."

"Yeah Mark, you're such a cutie." Maureen said as she came into the kitchen.

Roger turned around to look at her. "Who let you in Maureen?"

"The door was unlocked so I just came right in." She said.

"Note to self: Buy industrial strength lock to keep pests out." Roger said. Then there was a knock on the door. "That's probably Mimi and Darren." he said and went to answer it. "Hey you guys. Come on in." he greeted.

They all went back into the kitchen. "Hey Mimi, hey Darren, hey Little Angel." Maureen said.

"Maureen dear you get lovelier every time I see you." Darren said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "And Ana you are becoming a very beautiful young woman. Must be something in the water up here."

The girls giggled. "Darren you charmer, you're making me blush.." Maureen said with a smile.

"Okay Darren. We've already accepted you into our family, you don't have to try and butter anyone up." Roger told him.

Ana took Angelo from Mimi. "Thank you chica." Mimi said gratefully. "I don't know what I was thinking when I decided to be a mother. That kid drives me crazy most of the time."

Mark laughed as Ana put the baby in the play pen with Andrew. "Mimi you can handle it. You took care of Roger all that time. Angelo has to be easier to handle than he was."

Roger swatted him on the butt with an oven mitt. "Yeah well it's your job to take care of me now Marky." he said.

"Oh Rog, how are you holding up after your gray hair tragedy earlier?" Mimi asked as she took a seat at the table.

He gave a dramatic sigh. "It was hard at first, but I accept that I am getting older. At least my face is still young looking."

"Well Roger you know what happens when you get old. First it's gray hairs, then the wrinkles set in." Maureen said grinning.

"Maureen, out." Roger said warningly. "If you value your life, you will leave now."

"Oh please. It's not like you can chase me on those old creaky legs Grandpa." she fired back. Roger shot her an evil look. "Alright I'm going. I'm going. See you guys later."

When she was gone, they all sat down at the table to eat. "So Ana, I heard you had a date earlier today." Mimi mentioned.

Ana blushed a bit. "It wasn't really a date. Arty's my friend and we just went to have an after school meal."

"But you like him." Mimi insisted. "I can tell, we girls always know when a fellow girl likes a boy. That's how I knew Roger liked Mark."

"Oh ha-ha." Roger said with a smirk. "You guys are wonderful friends treating me like this, and in front of my daughter too."

"Aw Daddy you know we love you." Ana told him with a smile. Then she turned back to Mimi. "Aunt Mimi, you know Jaylah and I can watch Angelo for you sometimes if you want."

"Could you do it this Saturday?" Darren asked. "I want to take my lovely wife out somewhere special."

"I'm free." Ana said. "I'll call Jay later and ask her."

The rest of the meal progressed in the same manner and Mimi and Darren left around ten. Ana loaded the dishwasher and then went in search of her fathers. She found them sitting on the porch swing with their arms around each other.

"Aww." she gushed. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. The two of you are so cute." They smiled and moved apart to make room for her between them. "Back in the old days, did you ever think you'd be sitting on a porch swing with a family?" she asked.

"I never thought I'd _own_ a porch swing." Roger told her. "Hell, I never even thought I'd have a porch."

Mark smiled at that. "Yeah, Roger and I thought we'd be stuck in Alphabet City forever. And if you had've asked us if we'd have kids, we would've laughed you out of the loft."

"You mean kids in general, or kids with each other?" Ana wanted to know.

They looked at each other. "Don't get me wrong." Roger began. "I've always loved Mark. Just not in the kids having way."

Mark reached out and grabbed Roger's hand. "I know what you mean. But I feel like this is what we were destined to become. And I know I couldn't be happier."

"Me either." Ana said contentedly.

"Me either." Roger echoed. They were all silent for a moment.

Then, "Alright Ana, you've got school tomorrow and you know what that means." Mark said.

She got up. "It means I need to get ready for bed so that my body can be prepared for school tomorrow." she recited. "I'm going." She kissed them both on the cheek and then went into the house.

"What if someone had've came up to you back when we first met and told you that you and I would be raising a family together one day?" Mark asked Roger.

Roger considered it. "Well considering how hostile I was back in those days, they might have gotten shot or something. What about you?"

"I would never have thought that you would go for a guy like me back then." Mark told him. "If someone had've told me this would happen I would've thought that he was one of your druggie friends."

Roger smiled and leaned over to kiss him. "Well I'm glad we defied the odds and got together."

"Ditto." Mark replied. "And I'll prove it to you in about two hours when the kids are asleep."

"Ah it was worth giving up my old life just for moments like these." Roger said with a happy sigh.

"No offence Roger my love, but your old life wasn't really that great. You should be happy you got away from it." Mark said.

"That's true." Roger admitted. "But still, this life is really very fulfilling to me. It's like I can do something important with the time I have left."

"Yeah, you can do me in two hours." Mark reminded him. "I'm important."

Roger just laughed and kissed him again.

Author's Note: Ah I love Mark and Roger's happy family moments. They deserve them, after all they've come through together. Anyway I need ideas for this story. I don't have any drama to add. So if anyone has any ideas I'd be happy to consider them. Now click the "Go" button and leave me a review. You know you want to.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

At her request, Arty walked Ana home from school that next afternoon. "You have to meet my fathers." she told him.

"Ana, I already know both of your dads." he reminded her. "I've known them for years."

"Yes, but they only know you as my friend. If you're ever going to be anything more, you will need to be reintroduced so to speak."

Arty glanced at her. "You want me to be something more?" he asked with a grin.

Ana blushed. "Well, I like you Arty." she said shyly. "You've got potential. Plus it doesn't hurt that you've got that whole cute nerd thing going on." They had arrived at her house and she unlocked the door. "Come on, Daddy should be home right now."

She led him into the house. "Daddy!" she called out. "I'm home!" there was no answer. "He's probably in the bathroom fixing his hair or something." she guessed. But as she walked past the living room she saw Roger lying on the floor.

"He sleeps on the floor?" Arty asked.

Ana rolled her eyes. "He sleeps wherever he wants when he's tired." she replied and went over to Roger. "Daddy!" she called loudly. "Daddy wake up!" But he didn't stir. Her heart began to beat faster then. "Daddy are you okay?" She shook him but nothing happened. "Oh my God." she said under her breath. He was breathing, but faintly.

"Ana I think we need to call 911 if he won't wake up." Arty advised.

"Yeah okay." she said shakily. She picked up the phone and dialed.

"911. What's your emergency?" the operator asked.

"It's my father there's something wrong. He's passed out on the floor and he won't wake up." Ana told him frantically.

"Is he breathing?" the operator asked.

"Yes, but it's very faint. He's really pale and he just won't wake up." she responded.

"Alright honey I need you to calm down and give me your address so we can send someone over to help your father." the operator instructed. Ana told him where they lived and he said someone would be there soon.

Arty saw how afraid she was and put his arm around her. "You'd better call your dad." he said. "I'll go down the street and get Maureen or Joanne." Ana nodded and pulled out her cell phone to call Mark.

When he answered she told him what had happened and he said he'd meet them at the hospital.

Arty came back with Joanne in tow. She took one look at Roger's pale motionless body and gasped. "Lord please not Roger." she prayed softly and hugged Ana. The paramedics came a few minutes later and Ana, Joanne, and Arty rode with Roger in the ambulance to the hospital.

Mark was already there when they arrived and Ana ran to him. Only when she was in his arms did she allow herself to cry. Mark hugged his daughter hard. "He's going to be okay." he whispered fiercely. "He'll be fine."

"Is there anything I can do?" Joanne asked.

"Someone has to get Andrew from daycare and watch him." Mark said.

"I'll call Maureen." Joanne replied and walked away. Mark and Ana sat in the waiting room for what seemed like hours before they were told that they could go and see Roger.

He was sitting up in the bed when they came in. "Hey you two." he greeted them cheerfully.

"Don't hey you two us you jerk." Mark exclaimed. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Don't you ever scare us like that again." Mark went over and hugged his love. "I don't ever want another call like that again, do you hear me? Especially not from our daughter."

Roger hugged Mark back. "I promise it won't happen again Marky." he said. Then he looked at Ana. "I'm sorry if I scared you Anastasia." he said softly.

Ana rushed to hug him too. Then she hit him. "Daddy please don't ever scare me like that again. I thought-" she couldn't finish.

"It's okay." Roger assured them. "_I'm_ okay. I just got a little dizzy today and- Mark are you crying?" he asked abruptly.

"What do you think?" he retorted wiping his eyes. "I get a call from my daughter saying that you won't wake up and she's called 911. What do you expect me to do?"

Roger kissed him gently. "Mark, I'm fine. Really. I got dizzy and passed out. That's all."

Mark lowered his eyes. "Yeah well that's what used to happen to Angel isn't it?" he said a little bitterly. He looked Roger square in the face then.

Roger could see the fear in his blue eyes. "Ana could you give your Dad and me a minute please?" he asked her. She nodded and left the room. Roger patted the spot on the bed beside him. "Alright Mark, spill it." he ordered gently.

Mark sat down and allowed his tears to flow freely. "What am I going to do if I lose you?" he whispered and leaned his head on Roger's shoulder. "How will I survive?"

"Mark sweetie, you've known what's going to happen to me for a long time. It's inevitable. But it's not going to happen right now." he said.

"How do you know?" Mark wanted to know. "How do you know that this isn't the beginning of a long chain of hospital visits?"

"Because Mark, I don't think like that anymore. You know that. It's thanks to you and Mimi that I stopped. I'm going to be fine. If you don't believe me ask the doctor." Roger said. As if on cue, the doctor walked in. To Mark's surprise it was the same doctor who had treated Mimi a few years ago.

"Remember me?" she asked.

"Of course Dr. Bryson." Mark responded, getting up and wiping his eyes. "So how is he?"

Dr. Bryson smiled. "Roger's going to be fine. His white blood cell count was just a little lower than we like to see. But that's just because he's getting up in years. Are you taking your AZT regularly?" she asked Roger.

"Yeah." He said. "Everyday."

"Then it's probably just because you're getting older. It happens as the body gets older and produces cells more slowly. You should be fine after you rest a bit." Dr. Bryson advised.

Roger turned to Mark. "See baby, I told you so."

Dr. Bryson smiled. "I'll get your release papers ready and you can leave within the hour." she told him and left.

Ana came in after her. "So what's the verdict?" she wanted to know.

"Like I've been telling you two worry warts, I'm fine. Just, and this is hard for me to admit, getting older." Roger said smugly.

Mark pulled Ana over to the bed and they both hugged Roger who immediately started tearing up. "What's wrong now Daddy?" Ana asked with concern.

Roger shook his head. "It's just, I always pictured myself rotting in the hospital alone. And now I have this wonderful family. I never thought this would happen." he sniffed and wiped his eyes. "If either of you ever tell anyone I cried, I'll just deny it."

Ana laughed and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm gonna go call Arty and let him know everything's okay." she said.

"Speaking of Arty." Roger interjected. "If you're going to continue to date him I'll need to be informed of his intentions."

"Informed of his intentions?" Ana repeated. "Daddy you _are_ getting old. But don't worry I already warned him about that. He'll be over for dinner tomorrow."

Roger nodded and Ana left the room again. His face split in a wide grin. "I've always wanted to play the overprotective father." he said happily. "Now I can, since you know, you're the woman here and all."

Mark smacked him on the arm. "You'd better cool it before I put you right back in here for some stitches."

"Threats from my baby?" Roger asked in fake astonishment. "What happened to 'How will I survive without you?'" he put on a high voice in imitation of Mark.

"That hasn't changed." Mark said with a laugh. "I never said I'd kill you."


	5. Chapter 5

This is the chapter where Roger learns that everyone loves and appreciates him.

Chapter 5

When they arrived back at their house Mark, Roger, and Ana saw that all of their friends were clustered around outside.

Roger groaned. "Did you have to alert all of them?"

"Hey you get sick and this is what happens. All of them gather together to make sure you're okay." Mark replied as he parked the car.

"And anyway, you know you love the attention Daddy." Ana chimed in.

"So maybe I do." Roger said getting out of the car.

As soon as he walked up to them Mimi smacked him with her purse. "What is the matter with you?" she asked. "Esto loco?" she continued to ramble on in Spanish.

Darren put his arm around her. "Switch back to English baby." he said gently.

Mimi stopped. "Roger are you okay?" she asked finally. "Because in case you haven't noticed we were all worried about you."

Roger gave Mimi a hug. "I'm fine really." he said. "Now if all you lunatics can get out of my way, I'll open the door and we'll go inside and I'll tell you what the doctor said."

Sara, Mimi, Darren, Maureen, Joanne, Collins, Arty, and Jaylah obliged and moved away from the door and Roger unlocked it. Mark and Ana came up behind him after hugging everyone and they all went inside.

Everyone filed into the living room and took seats. Arty made his way over to sit by Ana on the floor. She smiled and took his hand. "You okay?" he asked her softly.

She nodded and leaned against him.

"Okay." Roger was saying. "So Dr. Bryson said that my white blood cell count was low, but only because I'm getting older and they're being produced more slowly. According to her, I just need to rest a while and I'll be fine."

Everyone let out a sigh at that and went to hug him. "Alright." he said laughing. "You all love me. I get the picture."

"Man." Collins said, punching Roger on the arm. "Don't do that to us again."

"Jeez, why is it that I'm getting abused here?" Roger asked rubbing his arm. "You're like the third person who's hit me today. It's not like you guys need me that much. But I promise, no more hospital visits if I can help it."

"Yeah well you'd better help it Rog." Maureen chimed in. "Who am I going to annoy if anything happens to you? Mark's used to it now so he just ignores me. I need you Roger."

"Yeah." Sara spoke up. "Without you I'd have no one to lust after without any hope of attaining." She looked apologetically at Mark. "I mean I totally respect your marriage, but Jesus Roger. You're just so freaking hot."

Mark looked at her and shook his head. "Girls." he sighed.

Joanne went next. "Roger I need you too. Without you there would be no one to keep Maureen occupied so I can get my work done." she said.

"And who else can cheer me up when I'm feeling old and stressed out?" Mimi asked. "I call you and you make me laugh Roger."

"And then I don't have to deal with a cranky wife." Darren added. "So yeah you're pretty needed around here man."

Roger looked at his friends. "Thanks you guys. You don't know what it means to know that you all need me like that." Then he looked at Arty sitting with his daughter. "You." he said to him. "Do you need me too?"

Arty looked up startled. "Yes. I need you to give me permission to go out with Ana." he said.

"Yes you do." Roger replied and looked at him expectantly.

Ana elbowed him. "Oh." Arty said. "Mr. Davis, I'm so happy that you're going to be okay. Do you think it would be okay if I asked Ana to go to the movies with me this Friday?"

"Well," Roger said. "you seem like a respectable young man. And I know you like and respect my daughter. So it's fine with me if you go out with her. But you need to ask her Dad too."

Arty turned to Mark who grinned at him. "Don't mind Roger." he advised. "He's happy that he can play the crazy overprotective father role now. It's fine if you and Ana go out. That is, if she wants to go."

"So do you want to go to the movies with me on Friday Ana?" Arty asked her.

"I'd love to Arty." she responded. Everyone in the room smiled and said, "Aww." Ana laughed. "And I promise that none of my large extended family will be there."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

After school on Friday, Ana and Jaylah went back to Ana's house so she could start getting ready for her date with Arty. Roger was sitting on the couch with his guitar and a notebook when they came in.

"Hey Daddy." Ana greeted him.

"Hi Roger." Jaylah said too. "Aren't you supposed to be resting?"

Roger rolled his eyes. "I am resting. No one said I couldn't get some work done while I rest."

"That kind of defeats the purpose of resting if you're going to work." Jaylah said wisely.

"Daddy's work is relaxing to him." Ana informed her. "Dad says that we have to take what we can get because this is as close as Daddy will actually come to resting."

"Thank you Ana." Roger said with a smile. "So you're off to get ready for your date tonight?"

"Yes. That's why Jay's here. Because no offence Daddy, but I do need some female intervention around here."

"Your Dad and I know that." Roger replied. "Why do you think we let Maureen come over here so much? It certainly isn't for the pleasure of her company."

"Hey that's my Mom you're talking about." Jaylah protested.

"I know." Roger responded with a grin. "Why do you think we let _you_ come over here?"

Jay stuck her tongue out at him and allowed Ana to pull her up the stairs. As they passed Mark and Roger's bedroom they saw that Mark was sitting at the computer.

"Hey Dad." Ana called as they walked by and went into her room. Jay opened the closet and surveyed the contents. Ana had been shopping with Mimi the day before and she had bought several new outfits.

"Okay." Jaylah said. "So you and Arty are going to the movies. That means that you have to look nice, but not too nice because you'll be in the dark for the most part." She pushed a few dresses out of the way. "I suggest you go with a nice skirt and a casual shirt. Or a nice shirt and jeans."

"I did just buy a new denim skirt that would look great with that green shirt Daddy got me." Ana told her.

"Oh you mean that one that says 'Sold my Soul for Rock and Roll'?"

"That's the one." Ana replied as she dug around in a drawer to find it. "And the skirt's in the closet."

An hour later Ana was dressed and Jaylah was doing her hair when Mark came and stood in her doorway. "Hey Ana. You almost ready?" he asked.

"Just about." Ana replied. "Why?"

"Because your Daddy and I want to see you before you go. It is your first date after all. And Maureen, Joanne and Sara are coming over too."

"Aw Dad. Why did you guys have to invite the whole gang over here?"

"It's not the whole gang. Plus Sara said she has an announcement to make. So just go with it, okay honey?"

Ana sighed. "Fine. I'll be down in ten minutes."

When she came down the stairs Mark, Maureen, Joanne, and Sara were all sitting in the living room listening to Roger play his new song, but they looked up as she came into the room.

"Aww Ana, you look so nice." Maureen gushed.

"I bought her that shirt." Roger bragged. He beamed at his daughter, proud of how well she had grown up in the past three years.

"Oh hush Roger." Sara said. "You look really hot Ana." Joanne nodded her agreement.

"Thanks you guys." Ana accepted. "Look can we make this quick? Arty will be here soon."

"Alright, alright." Mark said. "Sara you said you had something to tell us?"

"Yeah I do. So I have finally accepted that Roger, while extraordinarily hot, is also extraordinarily taken; and I found myself someone else to be with."

"Well I love Mark and wouldn't trade him for anything, but if I didn't have him it would be all you Sara." Roger said with a wink. Ana and Mark rolled their eyes at that.

"Anyway his name is Christopher Dawson and I met him at the library last week." Sara continued.

"Hey Roger?" Mark asked carefully. "Isn't your step father's last name Dawson?"

"Yeah." Roger answered.

"And didn't he have a son a little younger than you named Christopher?"

"Yeah."

"I don't think that it could possibly be the same person." Sara said. "I mean the Chris I know has curly brown hair and he likes to write stuff other than songs. And he has the most amazing eyes. Their this brownish gold color that I just love."

"That's Chris." Mark and Roger said at the same time. They had often made fun of his eyes when they were younger and from her description there was no mistaking that Sara was dating Roger's stepbrother.

A/N: So Sara is dating Roger's stepbrother. The next chapter is going to be really good, some of my original characters from my other stories will be making appearances and adding to the story. And no I haven't forgotten about Ana and Arty's date. That'll be next too! You know the drill, blue "Go" button, bottom left. CLICK IT! CLICK IT! CLICK IT!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Sara have you lost your mind?" Roger demanded. "My stepbrother is insane and you should not be with him."

"Oh Roger you need to get over yourself." Sara retorted. "Chris is a perfectly nice guy. Don't try to take this away from me."

"I'm not trying to take anything away from you Sara." Roger explained to her. "I'm just saying that when we were younger Chris was a whack job. Now he could have changed since then but I'll need to see it to believe it."

"Fine I'll see if he can come over here later tonight then." Sara told him.

"I really don't want to see him, but since it's you and you're my friend I'll go through with it."

"Thank you. I'll have him come over when he gets off work and then you can see how wonderful he really is."

"Yeah yeah we'll see." Roger said. "But I think we're overlooking the most important thing that's happening tonight." he smiled proudly. "It's the night of my little Anastasia's first real date."

Ana rolled her eyes. "Daddy, please it's so not that serious."

"Um it so is." Roger said back, mocking her tone. "But I promise not to embarrass you in front of your boyfriend."

"_Daddy._" Ana whined. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Not yet anyway." Jaylah muttered under her breath.

Mark stepped forward and wrapped his arm around Ana. "Leave her alone." he admonished. "Ana you have my permission to wait for Arty outside. Just stick your head in when you get ready to go."

"Thank you so much Dad. You rock." Ana gushed gratefully. She stuck her tongue out at Roger, who stuck his out back at her, and ran out the door.

Arty was just walking up the driveway when she got outside. "Hey Ana are you ready to go?" he asked nervously.

"Hi Arty. I'm ready." she replied and walked toward him.

"Don't we have to go in there and deal with your dads?" Arty asked. "I mean I spent like an hour preparing for it."

"No." Ana told him with a smile. "Dad saved us from all that. I just have to go pop my head in before we leave and we're out of here."

Arty sighed with relief. "Cool." He watched as Ana walked back up the driveway.

She came back to where he was standing and took his hand. "So let's go." she said with a smile.

The movie theater was about three miles away from Ana's house and it was about a ten minute walk. As they were walking Arty asked Ana how everything was going at home. "Things are great." she replied. "Daddy is doing much better now. He rests and writes his songs for Miss Ducky."

"Well that's good." Arty said. "Oh and Ana you look really beautiful."

Ana blushed and grinned. "Thanks."

When they got to the theater, Arty paid for two tickets to the new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie. It was scary, which gave Arty an opportunity to hold Ana during the bad parts. Neither one of them was really paying attention to the movie though. Afterwards they got some burgers and Arty walked Ana home.

"Hey Ana?" he asked when they had reached her street.

"Yeah?"

"So this was nice right?"

"It was great."

"So we should do it again right?"

"We should."

"Doyouwanttobemygirlfriend?" Arty asked in a rush.

"Okay." Ana replied and stopped walking.

Arty turned to face her. "I really like you Ana and you've just made me very happy." Then he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.

She sucked in a breath and kissed him back. "Goodnight Arty." she said softly and walked the rest of the way to her house. When she had let herself in the front door she saw Roger was still sitting on the couch.

"So?" he asked when he saw her.

"So what?" Ana replied dreamily.

"He kissed you didn't he?" Roger demanded with a smile. "That's always how you girls, and Mark, look after you get kissed by a cute guy that you like." Ana didn't reply. "Aw my daughter's had her first kiss." he exclaimed.

"Oh calm down Daddy." Ana said when she snapped out of her trance. "Yes, we kissed, and he's officially my boyfriend."

Roger got up and hugged her. "I'm so happy for you." he said. "My little girl's growing up."

Ana smirked at him. "And you call Dad the wife in this family. You're the one blubbering like a baby."

He rolled his eyes and smacked her on the shoulder. "What ever happened to respecting your elders?"

"Daddy you're just like a big kid." Ana retorted. "So when is your brother getting here?"

Roger's expression darkened. "Stepbrother. And Sara called and said they'd be here soon."

"Great. I can't wait to meet my uncle." Ana said with a laugh. "I'm going to take a shower. Call me when they get here." she ran up the stairs.

"Hey wait, don't you want to tell me all about your date?" Roger called after her.

"Not particularly." she called back. "But we'll talk later."

Roger shook his head and laughed as Mark came down the stairs. "So Ana had a good time." Mark commented. "She was singing when she ran past me and then she doubled back to give me a kiss."

"She's happy." Roger told him. "And I'm happy for her. It can't be easy for her, having us as fathers."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Mark replied. "I'm an excellent father. It's you that's the slob."

"Whatever." Roger retorted. His good mood disappeared when the door bell rang.

Mark shot him a look and to the door. "Be good." he ordered. Roger grunted as Mark opened the door.

"Marky!" a female voice rang out.

Roger's eyes widened as he recognized the voice.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

_**Just so you all know, Arielle is Roger's ex girlfriend from my story A Shoulder to Cry On. They had a bad breakup and never worked it out.**_

Mark shot him a look and walked to the door. "Be good." he ordered. Roger grunted as Mark opened the door.

"Marky!" a female voice rang out.

Roger's eyes widened as he recognized the voice.

"Oh my God." he breathed. "Arielle?"

The woman in question popped her head into the house to see who had called her. "Roger!" she squealed. "What on earth are you doing here? Mark, what is he doing here?"

"Um, well we uh." Mark stammered. "Look Arielle just come in and we'll talk about it."

Arielle shrugged and came in. Behind her were Sara and Christopher. They came in and Mark closed the door behind them.

"Hi Roger." Chris said.

"Chris." Roger replied with a nod. "This is getting crazy, so we're going to take this one at a time. Arielle what in the world are you doing on Long Island? Last I heard from you, you were in Connecticut."

"Well I came back to see my sister and her daughter. It's been a while since I've seen her." Arielle snapped. She was no longer happy to see Roger because just being in the room with him brought back old memories.

"And your sister is?" he was asking.

Arielle just stared blankly at him. "Joanne." she and Mark said at the same time.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Roger exploded. "Joanne is your sister?" Arielle nodded. "And you knew and never told me?" now it was Mark's turn to nod.

"I didn't think it would matter back then and when we met Joanne it took me awhile to figure it out." he tried to explain.

"But you figured it out. Is there anything else you've been hiding from me? Are you secretly engaged to someone else or something?" Roger demanded.

"Now that is not fair. If you had been paying attention then you would have noticed that they have the same last name and look a lot alike." Mark retorted.

"Well I guess I'm just not that observant."

"Apparently not!"

"Hey hey hey, what's with all the yelling? Andrew is trying to sleep up there." Ana scolded as she made her way down the stairs. "Dad and Daddy I know you aren't yelling at each other." Neither one of them met her eyes.

"Wait, now I'm really confused. Who is that girl? Who is Andrew? And why the hell did she just call you two Dad and Daddy?" Arielle wanted to know.

Mark looked at Roger who nodded and shrugged. "Uh the thing about that is Roger and I are kind of married."

Arielle's jaw dropped. "Kind of married?"

"Well more like really married. At least as married as two guys can get in the state of New York." Roger added.

"Married enough that the girl is our daughter Anastasia and Andrew is our son. By adoption of course." Mark finished.

Up until then Christopher had been sitting quietly, now he burst out laughing.

"And just what the fuck is so funny?" Roger demanded. "Sure laugh at the gay guy why don't you."

"No it's just that when we were younger my dad always said I was too wimpy and that I should have been more like you. And now it turns out that you're gay." Chris said still laughing.

"Laugh it up buddy." Roger threatened. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not in the best of moods right now. That was spurred from your unwanted visit so I'd shut up if I were you."

"Roger you said you were going to give him a chance." Sara reminded him. "You need to calm down."

"Well that's easy for you to say Sara." he snapped. "You like this idiot."

"Daddy you do need to chill." Ana said as she steeped forward. "Remember what the doctor said about stress and resting and how they relate to your white count." She hugged her father and led him to the couch.

Arielle, who'd been quiet since Mark and Roger's confession suddenly spoke up. "What's wrong with your white count?" she asked.

"Bad immune system." Roger grunted.

"But that is a prominent symptom of AIDS and HIV patients. Why would that affect you?" Arielle wanted to know.

"Because _I_ have AIDS okay." Roger said loudly. "Jesus, are you happy now? Now you have something else to gloat to your dad about Chris. And you Arielle, have another reason to call me irresponsible."

Silent tears trickled down Roger's cheeks as he sat back on the couch. Mark went and sat beside him and murmured comforting things in his ear.

"Maybe we should do this another time." Sara said softly.

"No honey, I have something that needs to be said now." Chris spoke up. He turned to look at Roger. "I don't know why you think I have a problem with you. When we were growing up I always admired you. You were so cool with your leather jackets and guitars and all the girls who wanted you. I wanted to be like you and my father wanted me to as well. I guess I acted so crazy because I wanted you to notice me and treat me like a brother, not an invasion to your family."

Roger looked up and stared hard at him. "But you were an invasion to the family. Well actually your dad was. He just came in and started changing things when he married my mom. I hated him for that, and you by default."

"I'm sorry you felt like that." Chris said. "Look Roger, I know I can't change what happened back then. But I mean I'm dating Sara now and she's one of your close friends. Don't you think we can try to get along?"

"We could try." Roger agreed. "But no more laughing at my marital status, alright? I love Mark more than I've ever loved any woman, and every one I associate with has to accept that." he turned to Mark. "I'm sorry I snapped at you baby." he said.

"It's alright. Every married couple fights sometimes. We're no exception to that rule." Mark replied and kissed him.

"Yeah yeah, hug, hug and family togetherness." Arielle butted in. "I'm still freaking out here. What happened since high school Roger? How'd you go from Roger Davis, chick magnet, to Roger Davis, Mark's husband?"

Roger shrugged. "My views on life changed and I realized what was important in my life. Mark's always been there, and now he always will be."

"And to think I was worried about trying to control my hormones when I saw you." Arielle said in wonderment.

"You still need to worry about that." Mark told her. "My man is damn sexy."

"Okay, your daughter's in the room here. Could you not?" Ana asked disgustedly.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

At about 7:00 am that next morning Ana was asleep. She was awakened suddenly by the sound of her cell phone ringing on the nightstand.

"Hello?" she murmured sleepily.

"Girl you need to get up and face the new day!" Jaylah's overly perky voice said back. "You said you were going to call me after your date last night unless there was something more exciting going on. What's up in the Davis household?"

"You wouldn't believe it Jay. We met Daddy's stepbrother last night remember?" Ana replied.

"Oh yeah, so what was he like?" Jaylah wanted to know.

"He was cool. But that's not the crazy part. Apparently he's friends with your aunt."

"Aunt Arielle?"

"Yeah. And to make it even crazier Daddy used to date her in high school. She was way shocked when she found out that he had married a man. Then they had this whole blow up about Daddy having AIDS and stuff." Ana told her friend.

"But they worked it out right?" Jay asked.

"I guess. Arielle is supposed to be coming back over here today to talk to Daddy some more. I get the feeling that they were really close."

"Man no one ever tells me anything." Jaylah pouted. "Let me go and ask the Mamas what else they're keeping from me. Oh and are we still babysitting today?"

"I think so, but I'll call Aunt Mimi ask double check."

"Alright see ya girl." Jay said and hung up.

Ana got out of the bed and walked downstairs. She wasn't expecting any one else to be up, but when she made it to the den, she found Mark sitting on the couch.

"Hey Dad." she said and came to sit beside him.

"Good morning Ana." Mark replied. "You're up early."

"So are you. Are you okay?" Ana responded.

"Yeah. I'm just thinking about some stuff." Mark told his daughter. "Taking a little stroll down memory lane actually."

"That must be a pretty long stroll." Ana said with a smile. "Is Daddy okay with what happened last night?"

"He's alright. He just has a lot of emotions to sift through right now, so be patient with him." Mark sighed. "Roger is still a little emotionally challenged in his old age."

"Who's old?" Roger asked as he came downstairs carrying Andrew. "I'm not old, how many times have I told you that? So you two are down here talking about me while I'm not here?"

"No Daddy we would never do that." Ana replied innocently. Then she got up and walked over to the phone. "I'm going to call Aunt Mimi and see if she wants me and Jaylah to baby sit Angelo."

"Can you do that in the kitchen please?" Mark asked. "Roger and I need to talk for a while."

"Don't be talking about me in here. I always know." Ana retorted and went in the kitchen. Mimi said that she would be glad to have them watch Angelo and they made arrangements for her to bring him over at about five. Ana called Jaylah and told her, and then she went back into the den. Roger had his head in Mark's lap.

"The two of you are still so cute." Ana told them. "Aunt Mimi is bringing Angelo over around five and me Jaylah are going to watch him. If you guys want to go out or something we can watch Drew too."

"We haven't gone out, just the two of us, in a while you know babe." Roger remarked to Mark.

"I know, we should go out and do something. Give ourselves a rest from our bad kids." Mark joked.

Ana stuck her tongue out at her dad. "Let me get dressed and I'll cook breakfast. Do you know what time Miss Arielle is coming over here?"

"I'm not sure. She's over at Mo and Jo's." Roger replied. "After she leaves Mark and I will go out and you and Jaylah can take over."

"That's a plan." Ana said. The morning flew by as Ana cooked breakfast and Roger bathed and dressed Andrew. Arty called and he talked to Ana for a while and they made plans to meet up that next morning so he could walk her to school.

At around three that afternoon there was a knock on the door and Ana ran to answer it. Arielle was standing outside fidgeting nervously.

"Hi Miss Arielle." Ana greeted as she swung the front door open. "Daddy and Dad are in the living room."

Arielle came in. "You can just call me Arielle. You're Anastasia right?" she asked. Ana nodded. "Is it weird for you to call them that? You know, Daddy and Dad? And how do you distinguish between the two of them like that?"

"It was hard for a while. Then we got used to it. Roger is my Daddy and Mark is my Dad." Ana shrugged. "It's just how we are."

"You'll have to forgive me if you think I'm being rude." Arielle said. "I never thought Roger would be one to have kids. Or to marry a man. Or to marry anyone for that matter. It's a little hard for me to wrap my mind around."

"It's okay." Ana assured her. "I think it was hard for everyone Dad and Daddy know."

Arielle laughed. "I suppose it was. Anyway on a lighter note, I hear you are best friends with my niece."

"Yeah. I mean it's like required that we be friends. We're both adopted by weird gay bohemians. We could form our own little exclusive club or something." Ana joked.

Arielle laughed again. "You know what?" she said. "You are the perfect kid for Mark and Roger. If it was possible for them to have a child together, you would be it."

"We say that all the time." Mark said as he and Roger walked into the kitchen. "She's all we could ever ask for."

"And one Andrew starts making coherent sentences he'll be perfect too." Roger chimed in. "Come on you guys. We'll go in the living room and talk for a while. Then Mark and I have a hot date."

"Ooh-la-la." Arielle said with a giggle. "No matter who you date Rog, it's always a hot date."

"That's because I'm so hot." Roger replied smugly.

"Old." Ana and Mark fake coughed at the same time.

Roger stuck his tongue out at both of them, smacked Mark on the butt and wrapped his arm around Ana. Then they all went into the other room together.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Roger, Mark, and Arielle went into the den while Ana went upstairs with Andrew once Arielle had finished cooing over him. "Your kids remind me so much of my Felicity." she said wistfully.

"Who's Felicity?" Mark asked.

Arielle sighed. "My daughter." she replied. "My seventeen year old daughter."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Roger said. "If she's seventeen that means you had to have had her back in high school."

"I did. I had her after we broke up and graduated. She's the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me and I regret nothing." Arielle explained.

"Okay calm down." Roger soothed. "I'm just surprised is all. You always seemed like the last person who would be pregnant in high school like that.

They talked some more about high school and their lives now and then Arielle looked at the clock. "I've got to get going. I'm going out with Sara and Chris tonight." she said. "See you guys later."

She was on her way out as Jaylah was coming in. She hugged her aunt and closed the door as Roger entered the kitchen. "Hello Roger!" she yelled in a singsong voice.

"Get out Jaylah!" Roger said back in the same way. Then he grinned. Ana is upstairs talking to her boyfriend."

"Isn't it just the cutest thing that her and Arty are a couple now?" Jay asked with a sigh.

"Yeah I'm happy for her, plus it doesn't hurt that Arty is just like Mark." Roger replied.

"What do you mean?" she wanted to know.

"Just that I don't have to worry about him trying anything with my daughter. Mark and I were best friends for five years and we lived together for another ten and it still took him this long to make a move on me." Roger explained. "Arty will respect my Ana and treat her like the lady she is."

"Okay." Jay said. "So anyway Ana said that we were watching Drew tonight as well."

"Yeah Mark and I are going out." Roger answered. "Are you sure you two can handle Angelo and Andrew?" he asked with concerned. "Either one of them is a handful alone, but when you put them together…"

"Don't worry about it Roger." Jaylah said and flapped her hand. "We've got it. And if we need any help my mothers are right down the street. Go and have fun with Mark."

"Yeah Daddy." Ana put in as she came down the stairs carrying her brother. "We'll be fine."

"I know _you_ will." Roger told her. "It's the spawn of Maureen I'm worried about."

"Ha ha." Jaylah retorted. "That was hilarious. And just so you know, since I was adopted by Maureen, I'm not her spawn." The doorbell rang and Ana put Andrew in his play pen and went to answer it while Jaylah argued with Roger.

Mimi, Darren, and Angelo were at the front door and Ana let them in. "Hey Aunt Mimi, you look so beautiful." Mimi did look nice. She was dressed for the night out that her husband had promised her. "Uncle Darren you clean up good too."

Mimi giggled and kissed Ana on the cheek. "Thank you Ana." she replied. "Where are your Dads?"

Ana leaned down to tickle Angelo who was wrapped around his father's leg. "Dad's getting ready and Daddy's in the kitchen losing a battle of wits against Jaylah." she answered. "They're going out tonight too, so Jay and I will be watching Angelo and Drew too."

"I hope they'll behave for you." Darren said. "Two year olds are not easy to handle."

Ana smiled. "We'll be okay." she assured him. "I take care of Andrew all the time and Daddy acts like a big two year old so I have practice."

They all laughed at that as Roger came into the living room. "Hey you guys." he said. Then he caught sight of Mimi. "Wow Meems, you look incredible. If I still liked girls, your husband would not be happy right about now. Come to think of it, neither would mine." he said with a grin.

"Watch it Davis." Darren growled playfully as Roger hugged Mimi. "You had your chance."

Mark came down the stairs then. "Hi Mimi, Darren." he greeted and hugged them both. "Ooh-la-la, don't you two look fancy and ready for a night on the town."

Darren looked at his watch. "We'd better go if we're going to make our reservations Mimi." he said. He bent down to his son. "Angelo you're wrinkling Daddy's pants. You need to let go so you can go play with Ana and Andrew."

"Don't wanna!" Angelo squealed happily. But he let go anyway and walked over to where Andrew's play pen. "Andew." he said and tried to climb into the pen.

Mimi chuckled. "Bye honey." she called. "Mommy and Daddy will be back before you know it. You be good for Ana and Jaylah."

Angelo nodded. "Bye bye Mommy! Bye bye Daddy!"

"See you little man." Darren called as well. "Thanks for doing this Ana." he said and then he and Mimi left.

Mark looked over at Roger. "You ready to go babe?" he asked.

Roger smiled. "Yeah. Let's get this show on the road. Isn't that what you television producers say?"

"Um no." Mark replied and wrapped his arm around Roger waist. "Ana we'll be back in a couple of hours. If you need anything call us first and if we can't get here quick enough go to Joanne. If she can't get here, _then _you go to Maureen."

Ana laughed. "Have fun you two. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Aww now we can't have any fun." Roger whined with a grin and allowed Mark to push him out the door. Ana shut it behind them and turned to survey the situation. Angelo was still trying to climb into the play pen so she picked him up and put him in there. Then she went into the kitchen to see what Jaylah was doing.

She was sitting at the table eating a sandwich. "They gone yet?" she asked with her mouth full.

"Yes Jay. They're gone. So what are we going to do? We've got two two-year old boys and an empty house to deal with for at least three hours. The possibilities are endless." Ana told her best friend with a smile.

Jay started to smile back when they heard a loud wailing from the other room. "And it starts." she said with a sigh and they hurried into the living room.

Angelo had climbed out of the play pen and Andrew had apparently tried to follow him. Unfortunately, he didn't have hereditary balance and had tumbled to the floor when he tried to climb out. Then he burst into tears. Angelo was not to be outdone and he started crying as well.

Ana and Jaylah exchanged glances and each hurried to pick up a child. They cooed and tried to soothe them but they wouldn't stop crying.

"What are we going to do Ana?" Jaylah yelled over the din. "I'm going to go crazy and someone might end up missing a child if they don't shut up!"

"Calm down Jay!" Ana yelled back. "I have an idea but I need you to look after them both while I go upstairs."

"No way Anastasia!" Jaylah said. But Ana had already dumped her brother on the couch and was running up the stairs. "Crap." Jay muttered and continued to rock Angelo, trying to shush him.

A minute later Ana came running back into the room holding her guitar. Every time Andrew started crying Roger would soothe him by playing a song. Hopefully it would work this time. She took a breath and began to play and sing: _"Your eyes. As we said our good-byes. Can't get them out of my mind, and I find I can't hide. From your eyes. The one's that took me by surprise, the night you came into my life. Where there's moonlight I see your eyes." _The boys had stopped wailing and were taking gulping sobs.

"Keep going Ana." Jaylah encouraged her. "It's working."

Ana nodded and continued. _"How'd I let you slip away when I'm longing so to hold you? Now I die for one more day, cause there's something should have told you. Yes there's something I should have told you. When I looked into your eyes. Why does distance make us wise? You were the song all along and before the song dies; I should tell you I should tell you, I have always loved you. You can see it in my eyes_._"_

She looked up and the boys were sound asleep and Jaylah was staring at her. Ana shrugged it off. "Thank God for Roger and his songs." she said.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Once the boys were quiet again and happily playing with their toys in the play pen, Jaylah and Ana set about finding something for them, and their young charges to eat. Ana was digging around in the refrigerator when the phone rang.

"Ten bucks says that's Mark or Roger calling to check up." Jaylah called from the living room.

"I'll take that bet." Ana called back and picked up the phone. "Hello, Davis residence."

"Hey Lady." came Collins' voice. "What's up?"

"Hi Uncle Collins. Me and Jaylah are babysitting Andrew and Angelo but other than that nothing much is going on." Ana responded.

"Your dads at work?"

"No they went out on a date." Ana told him. "So did Aunt Mimi and Uncle Darren. So what's up with you? How are things at NYU?"

"As well as can be expected when I'm teaching post juvenile delinquents." Collins replied. "You're ten times smarter than most of my students. That's why I'm calling actually. I wanted to see if you and Jaylah wanted to come and sit in on one of my classes sometime. Bring that boyfriend of yours too, I heard he was smart."

"Okay one, Aunt Maureen talks way too much." Ana said settling the phone between her ear and shoulder as she slid a pan of leftover lasagna into the oven. "And two, I would love to come sit in your class Uncle Collins. I'm sure Arty and Jay would too. But of course I'll have to ask your best friends first."

Collins chuckled. "Let me tell you what you say to them. Tell Mark that this is a wonderful opportunity for you _not_ to end up like Roger was at your age. He'll take care of the rest."

"Can do Uncle Collins." Ana replied with a laugh. "I'd better go. Jaylah's been alone with the boys for too long. Sometimes when she gets annoyed that Aunt Maureen starts to come out of her. I'll call you once I've talked to Dad and Daddy." She hung up, turned the oven on and walked back out into the living room. "You so owe me ten bucks." she told Jaylah. "That was Uncle Collins on the phone."

"Darn it." Jay said and handed over the money. "What did he want?"

"He invited you, me, and Arty to come sit in one of his classes at NYU." Ana answered.

"Ooh college boys here I come." Jaylah said happily. "My mothers will let me go, no problem. What about you?"

"They'll let me go." Ana replied. "It should be really fun."

Then her thoughts were interrupted by her little brother. "Ana!" he called. "Ana, hungy!"

"Hmm. I wonder what that could mean." Jaylah joked. Then Angelo took up the cry. "Hungy! Hungy! Hungy!"

"Understand now?" Ana asked and went into the kitchen to check on the lasagna. She and Jaylah cut up the food so the boys could eat it and ate some themselves. After they had eaten, Angelo and Andrew promptly fell asleep and then the girls got started on their homework for the weekend.

After about an hour Jaylah looked up in disgust. "Why are we so boring?" she asked. "Back in the old days our parents were out there in the city doing stuff and fighting for their lives. All we do is sit around here and do homework."

Ana put down her pencil and looked at her friend. "Actually our parents did a lot of sitting around in the old days. But when we go to Uncle Collins' class we'll have a chance to see what it's like in the big city."

Jaylah sighed and to back to work. "It's just a shame is all." she said. "Two hot teenage girls like us need to be exposed to the world before we're too old to get our kicks."

"Whatever you say Jaylah." Ana replied and turned on the television. It wasn't long before they heard the sound of a car driving up outside and Mark and Roger arguing as they walked up the driveway.

Jaylah gave another disgusted look as she checked her watch. "Back before seven." she said disappointedly. "Mark and Roger act like a couple of old people."

"Leave them alone." Ana reproved. "They're cute." The door opened and Mark and Roger entered, still arguing.

"I just want to know how you didn't see that that waitress was flirting with you. There's no way that you can be that dense." Roger was saying.

"I wasn't paying her any attention." Mark replied. "I don't even like girls anymore. So what if she was flirting with me? I wasn't flirting back."

"But you didn't stop the flirting from occurring and therefore you are just as much to blame."

"I didn't stop it because I never knew it had started." Mark cried in exasperation. He hugged Roger and then kissed him gently on the lips. "How could I pay her any attention when I was out on a date with a hottie like you?"

Roger rolled his eyes, but wrapped his arms around Mark's neck and kissed him back. Then he looked at his daughter. "Hey Ana. How did everything go?"

Before she could even answer Jay jumped in. "It was incredible Roger. You should have seen it. The boys started crying really loud and I was like 'what are we going to do?' And Ana was like 'hold on just watch the boys, I've got an idea.' So she ran upstairs and came back with her guitar. Then she played that song and the boys just stopped crying and screaming. It was awesome." she said in a jumbled rush.

Roger shook his head. "What miracle song did you play Ana?" he wanted to know.

"It wasn't a miracle." Ana said with a blush. "I just played Your Eyes and they calmed down."

"That's my girl." Roger said back proudly. He released Mark and plopped down on the couch.

"Uncle Collins' called." Ana began. "He said hi and that he wants me, Jay, and Arty to come sit in on one of his classes sometime soon. Would that be okay?"

"Of course it would." Mark answered. "As screwball as Collins can be sometimes, he's an excellent teacher and you will learn a lot from being in his class for even just one day. You all can go up there next Monday."

Roger nodded. "It sounds like it'll be fun for Ana and Arty, but Jaylah is Maureen's kid. Will she even know what Collins is talking about?" he joked.

Jay rolled her eyes and gathered up her stuff. "Really funny Roger." she said sarcastically. "You only make fun of me and my Mom because you love us. Now I have to go. Try not to miss me." She waved at them and let herself out of the door.

A few minutes after she left Mimi and Darren came to pick up Angelo. Once all the guests had left, Ana put Andrew to bed and then sat down on the couch with her parents.

"Soon our Ana will be going off to college herself." Mark said wistfully. "My God we are getting old."

"Don't worry you guys. When I go off to college you'll still have Andrew to keep you young. Plus your friends will always be there for you."

Roger sighed. "It's a miracle we've stayed alive as long as we have." he said. "I've decided that if I make it to old age, I'll be happy."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

That Monday morning Ana and Jaylah were all packed and ready to go visit Collins at NYU. Arty's parents wouldn't let him go, so it was just the girls. Mark also couldn't afford to take time off of work, so Roger and Mimi were going to go with them.

"Now Roger I know that you and Meems know New York really well, but the girls don't. So don't do anything crazy, please, for me." Mark was saying as he got ready to leave for work.

"Yes Mom." Roger replied and gave him a kiss. "Everything will be fine. Ana and Jay are good kids, and I promise that Collins, Mimi, and I will behave. There's nothing for you to worry about. Trust me."

"You know I do." Mark answered. "I just have to worry. It's my job as the 'mother' in this family."

Roger grinned at him. "You just go have a good time at work and we'll take care of the rest." The two headed from their bedroom and down the stairs. Ana, Jaylah, and Mimi were in the living room showing off their outfits.

"Hey Mark, Roger." Mimi said as they came into the room. "You off to work then Mark?"

"Yeah." Mark responded. "I can't leave things for those incompetent interns to run the place." he kissed his daughter on the cheek. "So everything is set right?"

"Yes Dad." Ana said. "Andrew is at daycare and Aunt Maureen and Aunt Joanne are going to pick him up at three. He'll stay there until you get home from work. We should be back around ten or so tonight. Does that sound good?"

"It does." Mark replied. "Okay. I'm off, have fun you guys." Mark left and Roger, Mimi and the girls headed for their car not long after that.

"This is so cool." Jaylah said excitedly to Ana. "I've always wanted to go to a college."

"College boys are so cute." Mimi told them. "They have that whole mature slightly nerdy thing going on." she sighed happily. "I can't wait to get there."

"Um Meems, I feel that it's my duty to remind you that you're married." Roger chimed in as he drove. "I don't think Darren knows about these college boys you're lusting after. Plus you're pushing forty, that can count as child molestation."

"Oh shut up Roger." Mimi retorted. "If anyone's a child molester, it's you." They enjoyed a nice ride up to New York laughing and joking.

Soon they were pulling into a parking space at NYU. They got a guide to show them to Collins' classroom and they walked in. Collins was asleep with his feet up on the desk. Mimi smiled and walked over to him, "Wake up you old drunkard." she said with a giggle.

Collins opened one eye and looked around when he saw Mimi standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, he broke into a smile. "Hello there Meems. I didn't know you were coming."

"And yet here I am." Mimi replied. "Get up and greet the rest of your guests." she gestured behind her.

Collins sat up and caught sight of Roger and the girls. "What, no Mark today?" he asked.

"Working as usual." Roger answered. "Someone has to be the responsible one in the family." he went to hug his friend. "So where are all the college kids?"

"They've got ten minutes to get here." the professor said. He checked his watch. "Make that nine minutes. You guys had better go claim seats before they get here, because there could be a frenzy. There's always one who suddenly remembers that he has Philosophy and Sociology this term and they come rushing in."

As he spoke a couple of students entered the classroom. "Hey Professor Collins." said one girl. She caught sight of Roger sitting in the back. "Who's the hottie? New student?"

"No Amanda, he's my best friend and the husband of one of my other best friends." Collins responded. Amanda was still looking flirtatiously at Roger so Collins sighed and added. "The husband of my best friend Mark, who is a guy."

That quelled the girl's interest and she went to sit far away from Roger. A few more students trickled in and Ana started getting excited. "This is so cool." she whispered to Jaylah. "I'm sorry Arty couldn't come."

"Girl forget about him for a minute." Jay advised. "There are so many cute boys here. Look at that one." She said this with the discretion that her mother the diva usually used, and the boy in question turned and smiled at her. She waved back. "I'm in heaven." she whispered.

A few more minutes passed and the rest of the class came in. Collins went to stand in the front of the class. When it became obvious that the class wasn't going to quiet down on their own, he cleared his throat. "You guys _are _aware that I have AIDS right?" he asked the room at large. It instantly got quiet. "That means I can't be standing here for my health." He took a moment and grinned at his students. "That's ever so much better. Now the observant ones here have probably already noticed that we have some new people with us today. And then there's a good portion of you who don't even know what class you're in, so I'll just tell you. There are some new people among us today. They aren't students so don't get excited, they aren't new people for you to copy off of."

The class laughed and Collins introduced his friends to them then he asked for the homework. Amanda's hand shot up in the air. "What Amanda?" Collins asked with a roll of his eyes. "Let's hear why you didn't do the homework this time."

"I didn't understand the question Professor Collins." the girl replied with a pout.

Collins sighed. "Who else didn't understand the question?" Nearly every hand in the room went up. "And what was so hard about it? All you had to do was write down the one rule that you hate, or find stupid, most in this world and why and how it should be abolished, then analyze what could happen if it weren't abolished. Is there any one who can explain this to the other dolts in the class?"

Everyone looked around at each other. Then Ana slowly raised her hand. "Um isn't it like you're abolishing a stupid rule before it can lead to other stupid rules that are useless and are just used for control?" she guessed.

"Please expound Miss Davis." Collins said proudly.

Ana cleared her throat. "Well it's like Hitler right? He decided that he didn't like the Jews, so he made a rule that they couldn't practice their religion. Then he added more rules and that led to the Holocaust. A more modern example could be our government's rules on gay marriage." She glanced back at her father, who nodded at her to continue. "I mean they are just making these rules so that they can control what happens in everyday people's houses. It could end up leading to a mass homosexual genocide or something." she finished with conviction and then blushed.

"That's exactly right." Collins answered. "All you people had to do was write why stupid rules should be abolished. You guys didn't even have to go that deep." he put his hand over his eyes. "Now that my fifteen year old niece has clarified the assignment for you _college students_, you have the rest of the class to do it. I want them on my desk before you leave. Angry with yourselves for wasting your parents' money on a college education that you take for granted? You should be."

Then flashed Ana a smile and went back to his desk to finish his nap. Roger grinned. "That's my daughter." he mouthed at Mimi.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The class handed in their papers with about ten minutes left in class so Collins again got up and went to the front of the class. "Who here has heard of a CD called _If the World Stood Still_?" he asked them. The students looked around at each other as if unsure what to say. "Come on now." Collins prompted. "It's not a trick question, have you heard of the CD or not?" A few students put their hands in the air, mostly females and the occasional boy in between.

"It's an excellent CD Professor Collins." Amanda said. "Have _you_ heard it?"

Collins gave Roger an evil smile. "Bits and pieces over the years." he answered. "Anyone ever wonder why the artist never put out another record?" There was a murmur and the class nodded. "Well I have a treat for you. I know he looks different, but my friend Roger here is _the_ Roger Davis who recorded that album. Anybody have any questions for him?"

All the girls in class turned as one and looked at Roger who blushed. "Wait." Amanda demanded. "You're Roger Davis?" Roger nodded. Amanda dug around in her purse until she found her copy of Roger's CD. "This is so you!" she screeched. "You're so hot and married to a dude…" she trailed off. Luckily, for Roger the bell sounded just then and the class filed out.

"You are going to pay for that Collins." Roger said with a glare as he walked to the front of the class. "That was really uncalled for."

"Yeah but it was fun." Collins replied. "Let's get out of here and see the city." he suggested.

"Ooh great idea Uncle Collins." Jay spoke up. "If the guys in your class are any indication, this city has a lot of cuteness to offer."

"Spoken like a daughter of Maureen." Roger said. "Well if Maureen liked guys that is." he corrected himself. "So shall we go down to the Life Café?"

"We may as well. Our visits there have not been as frequent as I would have liked." Mimi responded. "We've all gotten so busy."

Roger wrapped an arm around her. "We're not busy now." he said. "Let's go have some fun."

They got back in the car and drove over to Alphabet City. It had been a while since Ana, Jaylah had been there, and they were both plastered to the windows looking at the sights.

"I wish Arty could see all this." Ana remarked.

"Girl it's not healthy to think about a boy that much." Mimi said with a grin. "Unless you're in love that is. Then it's perfectly acceptable."

Roger frowned at that. "She's too young to be thinking about love." he said. "Plus, you're one to talk about thinking about a boy so much. As I recall, when _we_ were dating, there were a number of times when you were all '_oh Roger, I love him so much_.'" he put on a high voice and mocked her.

Mimi smirked back at him. "Yeah? Well that voice works really well for you Rog. You have that whole gay thing down pat. You must love it in the ass, you ass." she quipped.

"Just let the record show that you were all over this ass not that long ago." Roger retorted.

"Okay children." Collins interrupted before Mimi could respond. "That's really quite enough out of you two. Yes Mimi, Roger likes it in the ass now. It's not so bad actually. Feels kinda nice. And yes Roger, Mimi did used to be gaga over you. But she's not now so can you please cut it out?"

"Sorry Collins." they apologized.

"It's not me I'm worried about." he replied. "I'm used to you two fighting." he pointed at the girls as he drove. "They, on the other hand, do not need to hear it."

Luckily the two were engrossed in a serious conversation on whether Arty was cuter than this guy on the street. It wasn't long before they were pulling up to the parking lot of the Life Café.

They all got out and went inside. "It's been a long time since we've been here last." Collins said. "But the place still looks the same."

"Yeah it does." Mimi replied and looked around fondly. "Man this place has so many memories." Roger agreed and lead them all to the table that they sat at every single time they had come to the Café when they had been living in the East Village.

"Hey Daddy?" Ana commented after they had placed their orders. "Isn't that your friend Arielle over there?"

Roger frowned and looked where she was pointing. Sure enough, Arielle was sitting a few tables away with a girl he had never seen before. "Yeah that is her." he said and went over to talk to her. "Hi Arielle. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Arielle looked up startled. "Oh Roger. Hi. I wasn't expecting to see you here either. I just found this place last year and now I come here all the time with Felicity." she responded.

"That's cool." Roger replied. "My friends and I have been coming here forever." he looked at the girl who was with her. "Hey is this her? Felicity I mean?"

"Um yes. This is my daughter." Arielle answered nervously. "Felicity this is my old friend Roger Davis."

The girl looked up with a smile. "Hello, it's nice to meet you Mr. Davis." she said.

"Oh, you can just call me Roger." Roger told her. "That whole Mr. thing makes me feel older than I care to. Anyway come on you two, I want you to meet my daughter and the rest of my friends." He lead them to where Ana, Mimi, Jaylah, and Collins were sitting. "You guys this is one of mine and Mark's friends from high school, Arielle Jefferson. She's also Joanne's sister. And this is her daughter Felicity." The gang waved at them. "And this is Mimi, Collins, and my daughter Ana."

"Hey Aunt Arielle, hey Felicity." Jaylah greeted them. "Why don't you join us?"

They agreed to join them and Roger went back to the other side with them to get some extra chairs when Jaylah spoke up again. "You know I never noticed it before, but Felicity looks like someone." she said.

"She looks a lot like Roger." Collins agreed.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

No one mentioned their theories to Roger, and they all had a nice dinner. Once it was finished, Arielle and Felicity made their excuses and left the café. Roger, Collins, Mimi and the girls left soon after. They dropped Collins back off at the college and made it back to Long Island before it got too late.

After bidding Jaylah a good night, Roger, Mimi and Ana continued on to the Davis house. When they came in, Mark was sitting on the couch having a conversation with Roger's stepbrother Christopher.

"Dad!" Ana cried and ran to hug her other father. "I missed you."

"I missed you too Ana." Mark replied. "Did you have a good time?"

"Did she ever." Roger interrupted. "You will be proud to know that our daughter trumped a class full of college students today. She used that big Davis brain and out witted them all."

"Wow." Mark said. "I'm impressed. I always knew you'd come out to be a genius. Although I think it's the Cohen side of the family that you take after."

"Hardy har." Roger retorted and came to give his husband a kiss. Then he turned his attention to Christopher. "Hey Chris. To what do we owe the honor of your presence in our house?"

Mark got up to give Mimi a hug and Christopher looked at his stepbrother. "I came over here to see if you wanted to do something since we're giving this whole brother thing a chance and all. But Mark said you were in the city, so I stayed and got reacquainted with him."

"Well I'm here now." Roger informed him. "So let the brotherly bonding begin." Mimi cleared her throat loudly. "Oh yeah." Roger added. "This is my good friend Mimi Mathews. Meems, this is my stepbrother Chris."

"It's nice to meet you." Mimi said. She looked at her watch. "Well as lovely as this has been boys, it's time for me to go. Darren's been alone with Angelo practically all day, and I owe him big time. So I'll see you all later."

When Mimi left, Mark looked at Ana. "Come on." he said. "Your little brother has been wanting you all day." he gave her a this-could-get-awkward-let's-go-before-someone-dies look and together they got up and went upstairs, leaving Roger and Chris alone.

Once upstairs, Ana and Mark headed to Andrew's room where he was in his play pen chewing on a foam ball. Usually the girl would run up to her brother and coo over him, but tonight she just looked at him as he played.

"Ana, is everything okay?" Mark asked his daughter when he noticed this.

"Um, yeah." she replied.

Mark scowled at her. "Anastasia tell me what's wrong right now." he ordered. "I swear, you and Roger. All you do is hold your feelings in when I'm perfectly capable of helping. It's a wonder your heads don't explode."

Ana giggled in spite of herself. "You really sounded like a mother right then." Her father put his hands on his hips and tapped his foot. So she sighed and told him what was bothering her. "Dad I think Daddy has a kid."

Mark stared at her blankly. "Yeah. He has two. You know, you and Andrew."

"I mean a real kid." Ana explained in exasperation. "Like a kid that he actually created."

"What makes you think that?"

"Well we were at the Life Café earlier and your friend Arielle was there with her daughter Felicity. Dad, she looks just like him. They have the same eyes."

"That doesn't have to mean anything. Roger's looks aren't all that remarkable." Even as he said it, Mark knew that there was a possibly that she was right. Especially if Felicity had the same eyes as Roger. "I'm sure it's just a coincidence."

Ana shrugged. "If you say so. But it's a strange coincidence with him dating Arielle seventeen years ago and her daughter being seventeen."

Mark left his son's bedroom and went into the one he shared with Roger. With a heavy heart he picked up the phone and called Collins.

"Hi Collins." he said when the professor answered the phone.

"Hey there Marky boy." Collins replied. "You hear about your daughter and how she's smarter than my college students? And about how all the college chicks think your husband is the best thing since sliced bread?"

"Yeah, and I also heard about the girl who Ana thinks is Roger's daughter."

"Oh that. Well yeah, the girl looked a lot like Roger. But it could just be a really funny coincidence."

"Do you really believe that?" Mark wanted to know.

Collins sighed. "I'm not sure. I mean she looked just like him. And we all know how crazy Roger used to be about Arielle. There's a possibility that, well, she's Roger's kid."

"Why does this keep happening?" Mark groaned. "Every time things settle down around here, something else pops up to make things difficult. Am I just not meant to be happy with Roger? Is God punishing me for loving a man? Cause I don't understand what else it could be."

"Don't think like that Mark." Collins advised. "You love Roger, and you two will make sense of this."

Mark wasn't very hopeful of that happening, but he decided to give it a try later that night when he and Roger were lying beside each other in the bed. "Hey Rog?" he tried timidly.

The musician yawned. "Yeah babe?"

"Um, I heard you met Arielle's daughter tonight. What was she like?"

Roger chuckled. "A lot like Arielle. Quiet at first, you know, but she had that wit thing down pat and soon she and Collins were cracking jokes back and forth."

"Don't you wonder who the father is?" Mark inquired softly. "I mean according to Arielle, Felicity was conceived right after you two broke up. That's cutting it kinda close, isn't it?"

"What, you think _I'm_ her father?" Roger asked. "Mark that's ridiculous."

"Is it?"

"Of course it is. I mean…" Roger trailed off. "There's no way I could…"

"You could be." Mark said firmly. "And I think you should find out one way or another."

"I'll call Arielle tomorrow." Roger said finally.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

The next morning, Roger did something he never thought he would do. He got up at six in the morning, and called Maureen for advice. She answered sleepily after the sixth ring. "This had better be good." she mumbled into the phone.

"Maureen, I think I'm in trouble." Roger told her glumly.

That perked the dram queen right up. She loved to gossip about other people's problems. "Ooh what did you do?"

Roger sighed. "You know Joanne's sister Arielle? We used to date and-"

Maureen cut him off with a groan. "Is there any female that you haven't gone out with Roger?"

"There's you." he retorted. "That one time we had sex does not count as a relationship. _Anyway_, I dated Arielle in high school and now she has a seventeen year old daughter. We broke up seventeen years ago. You see where I'm going with this?"

"Oh God." said Maureen in exasperation. "Joanne!" she yelled. "Roger impregnated your sister! Come talk to him!"

There was a moment of silence, then Joanne got on the phone. "You did what?" she exclaimed.

"I'm not sure, but there's a general consensus that believes I could be Felicity's father." Roger explained.

"Are you?" Joanne demanded.

"I don't know."

"Well you need to find out. I'm going to send Arielle over there later so you can get to the bottom of this."

"Alright." Roger acquiesced. He could hear Maureen in the background, chanting loudly, "Roger's a daddy. Roger's a daddy." He really hoped that she was wrong.

Ana, Mark, and Andrew were up not long after to begin their days. Ana left to walk to school with Jaylah, the two of them still buzzing about their trip into the city. Roger got Andrew ready for daycare robotically, his mind not really on the task. Once his son was ready, Roger carried him downstairs to Mark who would drop him off on his way to work.

The filmmaker took one look at his husband and went to give him a kiss. "You seem worried." he said. Roger shrugged and Mark hugged him tightly. "Hey, no matter what happens you'll always have me."

"I know." Roger replied. He kissed Mark back and buried his face in his shoulder. After about a minute, he sighed. "You'd better get to work."

"You'll call me after you talk to Arielle, right?"

"Yeah. If Jo doesn't kill me before I get the chance." They kissed once more, and then Mark left with Andrew. Roger flopped down on the couch and flicked on the television. There was nothing on that could distract him from the predicament at hand. Luckily, he didn't have to distract himself that long. Arielle knocked on the door less than an hour later.

Roger opened the door and smiled weakly at her. "We need to talk." he said.

"So my sister tells me." Arielle responded. "What are we talking about exactly? Joanne didn't say."

They came into the living room, and Roger gestured for her to sit on the couch. "We need to talk about Felicity. Who's her father?"

Arielle laughed nervously. "I already told you that she's not yours." she said. "What more do you want me to say?"

"I want you to tell me the truth Arielle." Roger replied. "If you say right now that I'm not her father, and you're telling me the truth, I'll believe you."

"Do you want to be her father or something?" Arielle wanted to know. "Don't you have enough to be getting on with without trying to claim something that you gave up seventeen years ago?"

"If you recall, Arielle, you left me. And _if_ Felicity is mine, you never told me about her. So I didn't give anything up. Now I want to know. Am. I. Her. Father? It's really a simple question."

"No. It isn't. You want the truth Roger? Fine. Yes, Felicity _is _your daughter." Arielle said finally. "I was pregnant with her that day when your mother left. I was going to tell you, but that didn't seem like the right time."

"So you waited until seventeen years after the fact?" Roger asked incredulously. "You thought _that_ was the right thing to do?"

"I thought I was never going to see you again Roger!" Arielle exclaimed. "I never thought there was a need to tell you after I left."

"What do we do now?"

"As far as I'm concerned, you don't have to have do anything. I've raised Felicity by myself for the last seventeen years. Adding you to the mix would only make her confused."

"Arielle I'm not just going to ignore her. She's my daughter." said Roger firmly.

"You already have a daughter." Arielle reminded him. "And a son. And a husband who loves you. What more do you want?" she buried her face in her hands and groaned loudly. "This was not supposed to go like this. Why is it that every one I know is somehow connected to you? You, Roger Davis, the one man I can't have."

Roger stared blankly at her. "What do you mean?"

She sighed in exasperation. "Do you have any idea how happy I was when I found out I was pregnant with your child? I was fucking ecstatic. 'Now we'll be together forever.' I thought. I loved you Roger. And you cheated on me. Now, seventeen years after that, you're flung back into my life, and I still can't have you. I don't want my daughter to have to go through the pain of getting you and then losing you. I know from experience how painful that is."

"Arielle." Roger said gently. "I didn't think-"

"You never do." Arielle retorted. She got to her feet. "Don't try to start now." and with that, she left the house, slamming the door behind her.

"That could have gone better." came a voice from the window. Roger looked up sharply and was surprised to see Mimi standing outside, watching him.

"I don't see how." Roger responded. "Why are you lurking outside my window anyway? You know what this is reminding me of right? A certain night when a certain someone was harassing me with a candle."

"Whatever." Mimi retorted. "You know that was the most fun you had had in a long time. And your first human contact other than Mark." She came around to the front door and walked in. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Arielle was always very dramatic." Roger explained. "She overreacted, that's all."

Mimi looked doubtful. "Did she? I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but you do kinda have a leaving people thing."

"A leaving people thing?"

"Well it's just that you have that fear of commitment. It was there when we were dating. You've gotten a hell of a lot better though now that you're with Mark. But I imagine that Arielle doesn't know that." Mimi reasoned.

"So you're siding with her." Roger said matter-of-factly.

"I guess I am." replied Mimi. "Arielle's right. A child needs steady people in their lives. If you're introduced into Felicity's life, you have to stay there."

"I have changed you know." Roger said indignantly. "I'm not flaking out on my family."

"Yes, you have changed. But like I said, Arielle probably doesn't know that. Plus Ana and Andrew are adopted. They know what it's like to be left alone. Arielle's probably thinking that if you leave them they won't take it that bad, which is crazy."

"I would _never_ leave them!" Roger said with passion. "I love my family."

"So show Arielle that." Mimi suggested. "She might let you into Felicity's life. One thing about you Roger, is that you're hard to stop loving."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Mimi went into the kitchen to get herself something to eat, and Roger called Mark.

"What's the verdict?" the filmmaker asked when he picked up the phone. "Put that down you idiot intern. It clearly says 'professionals only!'"

"Um, what?" Roger asked confused.

"Oh not you honey." Mark replied. "I was talking to Jonathan, the intern who won't have a job tomorrow if he keeps this up!" a door slammed in the background. "Anyway, what's going on?"

Roger sighed. "I talked to Arielle and she said that I am Felicity's father. But she doesn't want me to have anything to do with her. Mimi says it's because I have a leaving people thing."

"Not anymore though." Mark assured him. "I'll talk to Arielle for you if you want. She should know that you've changed for the better. I'm just wondering, with Arielle and Felicity still living in Connecticut what do you expect to happen?"

"I don't know." Roger admitted. "But I should have the option to see her or something."

"You're right, you should." Mark agreed. "We'll fix it Roger." suddenly there was the sound of a crash in the background. "That nincompoop just dropped a camera." Mark said. "I'll see you at home sweetie. I need to handle this."

"Don't be too hard on him babe." Roger said and hung up.

While Roger had been on the phone someone else had come into the house. He turned around and looked into the green eyes of Felicity, his green eyes to be exact. "Hi Dad." she said softly.

"You shouldn't call me that." Roger replied. "Your mother won't like it."

"But you _are_ my father. Aren't you?" Felicity asked. "Mom thinks I don't know about you, but the truth is I've known for a while."

"How?"

Felicity shrugged. "Mom wouldn't tell me who my father was. So I asked Aunt Maureen and she said that she thought it could be you."

"Maureen. Of course." Roger responded. "Whenever information is leaked, Maureen is on the other end."

"So what do you plan to do about this?" Felicity inquired. "Are you going to step up and be my father?"

Roger was taken aback. "I want to." he said. "But your mom doesn't think I'm cut out for it." he looked at her searchingly. "Do you want me to be your father?"

"You already are. Mom can't change that. I want to get to know you. Jaylah said that you were a great dad to Ana. I'd like to see for myself."

"Uh, okay." Roger replied.

"Mom went shopping with Aunt Joanne so I'm going to hang out around here." the girl informed him.

"Okay." Roger said again.

Felicity took a set on the couch. "I don't even understand how Mom thought I wouldn't figure it out. I mean, we look so much alike."

"That's a wonderful thing too, chica." Mimi added as she exited the kitchen. "Because Roger Davis is a grade A hottie."

Roger grinned. "I'm not a piece of meat Meems. Though I will admit, I am pretty hot."

Mimi giggled. "In all seriousness though Felicity, Roger's probably one of the best fathers you could have. Now that he's got Mark, he's a lot more responsible. And _Nombre de Dios_, he needed the help."

Roger scowled at her, but Felicity looked thoughtful. "I hear a lot about this Mark. Who exactly is he?"

"Mark's my husband." Roger answered. "He's my reason for living, other than my kids of course. You'll meet him later if you stick around."

Mimi sighed happily. "They're so homophagotry that it's adorable."

"And Mimi here is so jealous because my husband is cuter and way more lovable than hers." Roger retorted. Mimi laughed and punched him in the arm. This jovial attitude and atmosphere continued into the afternoon. So it was a happy threesome that greeted Mark when he came home from work with Andrew.

He heard the sound of laughter coming from the den and put Andrew down on the floor. "Go find your Daddy for me Drew." he instructed his son.

The little boy toddled off to find Roger. He came into the den, and climbed up on the couch beside his father. "Hi-hi Daddy!" he said happily.

"Hey there Drew." Roger said. "Where's Dad?"

Andrew pointed to the front of the house. "You go too."

"He's adorable Dad." Felicity gushed. Mark, who was heading towards the den, was surprised to hear the girl calling Roger "Dad" already. But it was with a smile that he greeted his husband when he came out on Andrew's heels.

"Hey Mark." Roger said and motioned for Felicity to come forward. She did and Roger beamed. "This is Felicity. She's Arielle's and my daughter."

Mark was startled at how much the girl resembled both Roger and Arielle. "Hi." he said. "I'm Mark, Roger's uh…"

"Husband right?" Felicity supplied. "Dad told me."

"Right." Mark said. "It seems that you've adjusted well to Roger being your father."

"Oh she already knew. Or at least suspected." Roger informed him. "She has a leak in her family."

"Let me guess. Maureen?"

"Who else?"


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"So tell me Felicity," Mark said conversationally. "What is your mother going to say about this?"

Felicity liked Mark a lot. It was so nice to watch him and Roger interact. She smiled at him now. "Well I wasn't actually planning on telling her just yet. She doesn't know that I know about Dad and I'm going to have to keep my mouth shut about today if I don't want Aunt Maureen blabbing."

"That's for sure." Mark agreed. He looked up with an amused look on his face as Roger came rushing into the room looking harried.

"Lissie, you'd better get out of here. Your mother and aunt are around the corner."

"How do you know?" Mark wanted to know.

"Mimi told me. She just left. Arielle won't be happy if she finds out about this. And then of course I'll get the blame as always."

"Okay. I'm leaving." Felicity said. She hugged Mark and then kissed Roger on the cheek. Before either man could say anything, she was dancing out the door. They stared after her and then at each other. Mark's blue eyes held amusement, Roger's green ones, a question.

A small smile played on the filmmaker's mouth as he patted the seat next to him on the couch. Roger sank onto it and leaned his head against the smaller man's shoulder. "So?" he asked warily.

"I like her." Mark replied. "Any idiot can tell that she's yours though. She's like you in a girl's body and with Arielle's brain. Well except for that grace thing. She's graceful like a gazelle. You have all the grace of a musically inclined lumberjack."

Roger lightly punched Mark on the shoulder. He looked up and pulled his lover's mouth down to meet his. "I'm _your_ lumberjack." he whispered against Mark's lips.

"Okay, yeah." Mark agreed breathlessly. The two separated and the filmmaker sighed. "You don't know how lucky you have it." he said. "All you have to do is sit at home all day and make nice with your illegitimate children. We of the working world have it a little harder."

"Rough day?" Roger inquired. "When we talked earlier you sounded kind of murderous."

"I swear those interns will be the death of me." Mark growled. "All they have to do is get coffee and edit film. But they want to touch things that I have clearly labeled for them not to touch. And everyday it's 'Mr. Davis don't you think we'd get higher ratings if you looked into the latest celebrity scandal?' Then when I calmly tell them that Buzzline is not about that anymore, they call me old."

"Teenagers baby." Roger soothed.

"What about teenagers?" Ana asked as she came through the front door. "Daddy you aren't bad mouthing my generation are you?"

Roger adopted an innocent expression. "Not me. That's all your Dad. He said you guys were incompetent."

Mark rolled his eyes. "I obviously didn't mean _her_, dummy. Our Ana could work circles around those idiots who work for me. Hell, _Andrew_ could do better than them."

"Um, alright. So how was your day Daddy?" Ana said and flopped into a chair.

Roger and Mark exchanged a glance. "Actually Ana, I need to talk to you." Roger began. Suddenly the front door slammed open admitting an angry looking Arielle with Maureen behind her.

"Roger can we talk?" the former asked in deadly voice.

There was no question what they would be talking about. "Come on Ana, let's go upstairs and we'll get started on your homework." Mark said quickly. They exited and then Arielle glared down at Roger.

"What gives you the right to talk to my daughter after I told you not to?" she demanded. Roger opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off. "Don't try to deny it. Maureen told me that Felicity was over here today."

"Damn it Mo." Roger growled. "Can't you ever just shut the hell up?"

Maureen stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm going to go. You two obviously have some things to work out."

After she left, the room fell silent. A few minutes passed then Arielle spoke again. "Well? Are you going to answer me? What right do you have to talk to my daughter?"

"About as much right as you had to hide her from me." Roger replied quietly.

That was a mistake. He had forgotten how bad Arielle's temper could be. "Oh well let me see." she snapped. "Since I was the one who gave birth to her, alone. Bought an apartment and worked to take care of her, alone. And raised her for seventeen damn years, alone, I think I have a lot of right."

"That's not fair Arielle." Roger said back. "I didn't even know she existed. I would've helped."

"How the hell were you going to help?" Arielle shrieked. "From what I hear you were too busy dealing with your addictions and dead girlfriends to have been too much use to us."

"Don't talk about things you don't understand." Roger snapped back.

"You aren't in a position to be a good father."

"Tell that to my two children then!"

Arielle laughed cruelly. "Oh yeah cause they're being raised so well. Damn it Roger, they've got two dads. What kind of life is that for a child?"

Roger snorted. "Two dads is better than having a single mother."

"Not when one of them is you! You are irresponsible and you can't be depended on. One minute you're devoted, then you lose interest and others are left to pick up the pieces."

"You know what? This isn't even about Felicity anymore is it?" Roger responded. "This is about you and me and what happened almost twenty years ago. You can't apply that to everything."

"Why not? I can't imagine that you've changed that much over the years."

"You know, you've always been smart Arielle. But you don't have much life experience."

Arielle threw him a disbelieving look. "I've raised a daughter by myself for seventeen years. How is that not life experience?"

"Okay well, you've had life experience, but you haven't responded well to it. You didn't learn anything from it. That's where you and I differ. I learned a lot from my addictions and dead girlfriend." Roger explained.

"You are not better than me Roger Davis." Arielle hissed.

"You're holding a twenty year old grudge! And you're letting your unresolved issues with me make our daughter miss out on having a father. That sound kinda petty to me."

"Argh!" Arielle screamed. "I hate you Roger. I didn't think it was possible for me to dislike you anymore than I did seventeen years ago, but I do. I hate you."

"That's because you know I'm right."

Arielle was breathing hard now. "Don't," she said in a low deadly voice that shook with emotion. "Don't go near my daughter again."

"I don't have to." Roger couldn't help replying. "She seeks me out. Apparently your parenting skills aren't that up to par if your child needs to come talk to a guy she's known for like two days. I could give you some lessons if you like."

"I fucking hate you. Why don't you just do us all a favor and drop dead?" Arielle whispered and then she left, slamming the door as she went.


	18. Chapter 18

Yes, I know it's been about 525,600 minutes since I last updated this story. Writer's block is a bitch; I'll say it again.

Chapter 18

In the minutes following his blow up with Arielle, Roger went through a varying degree of emotions. The last of which was satisfaction. He knew that he had been right, that he had grown up more than anybody gave him credit for. Still, he'd always hated fighting with Arielle. She'd been one of his closest friends before they had fallen out, which Roger knew was his fault.

He sighed and looked up to find Mark peeking around the corner at him, looking anxious. Roger chuckled in spite of himself. "I'm not going to explode honey." he assured Mark.

Mark came into the room, his eyes shining with admiration now. "I love you." he said.

"Why?" Roger asked dully. "According to _her_, I'm a bad person."

Mark shook his head. "No," he protested. "I was listening to that argument. You were right, and she's being stubborn."

"Yeah, but she did have a point." Roger said. "The person I used to be would have been a horrible father. Sometimes I kinda wonder if I still know who I am. I made this transition from that idiot I was, to a slightly better idiot, to a rock star, to a husband, to a father. And I've just gone with the flow without noticing."

Mark smiled. "Well I've noticed. Mimi, Collins, Maureen, and Joanne have noticed. And if you spent enough time around Arielle without fighting, she'd notice too." he hugged Roger tightly.

"Thanks." the musician replied. "I'm going to talk to Ana. I've still got to tell her about Felicity, and something about her teenage perspective always makes me feel better."

When Roger went upstairs, Mark went down the street to Maureen and Joanne's place. Jaylah answered his knock with a glare.

"What did you guys do?" she demanded. "Ever since Aunt Arielle got home, she's been yelling. Then Mama Jo started yelling at her, and I'm getting sick of it."

Mark sighed. "I didn't do anything." he told her. "This is between your aunt and Roger. Can I come in?"

"At your own risk." she responded. When Mark came in he heard high screaming and someone crying. "So what are you going to do about this? You're the mediator in this messed up family thing. Go work it out."

Just then Joanne came storming out of the back room. "Mark you need to handle this." she ordered.

"Alright, I'm going dammit!" Mark snapped. He walked toward the back, muttering under his breath. He came to the room where Arielle was laying on her bed crying. "Arielle?" he asked.

She lifted her tearstained face. "Go away Mark." she sighed.

"I can't." Mark replied. "I have to talk to you about Roger."

"Roger who?" she quipped.

"Roger Davis, the father of your daughter and the dude you used to go out with. My husband Roger." Mark clarified. "You're wrong about him, you know. Roger's a completely different person now. And Felicity would be better for knowing him."

"The hell she would. What could he possibly have to contribute to my daughter?"

Mark shrugged. "Life experience. Roger knows a lot."

"Again with this life experience thing. Nothing that moron knows could be of any use to a seventeen year old girl. Maybe a recovering drug addict."

"Our Ana seems to benefit from him. Look, I'm going to explain something to you Arielle. You think you know Roger, but you don't anymore. You're basing your assessment on what happened in high school, Now your daughter's in high school. It's time to change. Spend some time with Roger before you make any rash decisions."

"Being a single mother is all about making rash decisions Mark. I've been doing it all my daughter's life." Arielle said sadly.

"Then let somebody help you. Let Roger help you. He's a good father. You know me, I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true."

"But Mark you love him. You're slightly biased."

The filmmaker snorted. "Please. I've known him the longest. I'm always the first person to call out his faults. That's why we're so good together. Because I tell it like it is, and he accepts that."

Arielle could read the sincerity in Mark's words and face. She knew what he was saying, but she had to make him understand. "I hear you Mark, I do. But I have to be careful. I can't let Felicity get hurt like I did. You know how it was with me and Roger. Look at your own relationship with him. It took you two this long to get together."

"But that's the point." Mark explained. "Roger's worth the wait. Felicity's waited seventeen years for a dad. I think that's long enough." he kissed her on the cheek and left the room, almost tripping over Maureen as he went. The diva was sitting on the floor outside with her head in her hands.

"Maureen? You okay?" he asked her.

"No." she groaned. "This is all my fault, and now everyone's mad at me."

Mark sighed inwardly. There were only so many pep talks one man could give. Still, he gently closed Arielle's door and settled next to Maureen on the floor. "_I'm_ not mad at you." he assured her. "Why would you think everybody else is?"

"Because they are!" Maureen wailed. "Arielle's mad because I told Felicity that Roger was probably her father. Joanne's mad because I told Arielle, but not her. And Roger hates me for a lot of reasons."

"Nobody hates you Maureen." Mark said. "We wouldn't be who we are without you. Roger loves you too. He's just having some hard times right now. Don't listen to the things he says. Besides, for what it's worth, I think you did the right thing." he stood up. "I've got to get back home, before someone else needs me to talk to them."

When he got back home there was chaos. Ana was pacing in the living room, Andrew on her hip and Roger was yelling at someone who sounded like Sara in the hallway.

"I'm getting too old for this." Mark muttered darkly. There was only one way to handle this situation. He put two fingers in his mouth and whistled hard. The kids turned to look at him though Roger and Sara continued to yell in the hallway. "What is going on?" Mark demanded.

"Daddy is mad because Arielle called Uncle Chris and about Felicity and then Chris told Sara. She came over here to find out what is going on and Daddy called Chris some bad names, so now Sara's upset." Ana told him.

"Did Roger explain to you about Felicity?" Mark asked his daughter.

She nodded. "It was kind of obvious. Daddy's been yelling about Chris for the past twenty minutes though."

"Well he deserved it." Roger snapped as he came storming down the stairs. "Who does he think he is telling me off for making Arielle cry?"

"You know what?" Mark said tiredly. "Roger go talk to Arielle, right now."

"About what? I don't have anything to say to her." Roger protested.

"Yes you do!" Sara shouted from the stairs. "You have a child with Arielle. Maybe you talk about her Roger."

Mark sighed again. He was getting tired of the yelling. "Sara, come down here and stop screaming please. We have to work this out."

Sara flounced down the stairs. "You know you should apologize Roger. You were very rude about Chris."

Roger rolled his eyes and came to stand by Mark grumbling something that ended with "can bite me." Mark wrapped his arms around his husband and shushed him. "What did you say about Christopher?" he asked.

The musician glared at Ana, who rolled her eyes and left the room with her little brother. Roger lowered his eyes. "I sort of said that Chris was a pretentious wanna be yuppie who could got off by riding my balls to get ahead with my friends."

Mark smothered a laugh and tried to look stern. "That was wrong of you honey." He scolded. "But worry about that later. Right now you need to go make things right with Arielle. Oh and Maureen too. Please?" he added when Roger still looked defiant.

"Fine, I'll go." Roger agreed reluctantly. "But you know how they are. If anyone tries to kill me, I'm out of there." And with that he stomped out.


End file.
